


Growing Pains

by Rocky_T



Series: Tightrope [8]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25543186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocky_T/pseuds/Rocky_T
Summary: One week after the events of "Caretaker", the crew (both Maquis and 'Fleet) are figuring out how they fit in onVoyager.
Relationships: Chakotay & B'Elanna Torres, Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay/Seska (Star Trek), Kathryn Janeway/Owen Paris
Series: Tightrope [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797067
Comments: 11
Kudos: 17





	Growing Pains

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place right before "Parallax."
> 
> Many thanks to Seema for the beta.

Chakotay pressed his hand against the sensor plate and then entered the authorization code. Immediately, the mechanism unlocked and the security doors slid open. Chakotay smiled sardonically. Barely a week after Janeway offered to combine crews and make him her first officer, a part of him was still surprised that she had meant it.

He entered the high-security area housing the brig. A single officer manned the console off to the right. On the other side, six individual cells were arranged in a semicircle, a pattern selected so none of the inhabitants would be able to see into another cell, thereby granting them all a modicum of privacy. That is, if you ignored the fact that the holovid feed from each cell was continually playing on a small screen at the main security console and constant sensor sweeps fed their bio-scans there as well. Chakotay felt a wave of relief that his people had been spared the ignominy of spending the next 70 years here.

“Commander Chakotay,” the security officer said, immediately coming to attention. 

“At ease, Lieutenant Rollins,” Chakotay said, with a smile. He’d made a point of learning all the names of the original _Voyager_ crew as quickly as possible to ease his acceptance as first officer, no mean feat when the Starfleet personnel outnumbered his people more than two to one. He suspected Janeway had made a similar effort regarding the Maquis, for the same reason, although it was certainly easier for her. 

One week into their arrangement, there were still distinctly two crews on board _Voyager_. Although they all wore the Starfleet uniform now, it was easy to distinguish between native Starfleet and Maquis. It wasn’t just that the Maquis had opted to wear rank badges instead of Starfleet pips; the difference between the two groups was really one of attitude. The Maquis had a collective chip on their shoulder that made them more likely to lash out at little or no provocation. The key characteristic of a dyed-in-the-wool ‘Fleeter, on the other hand… some might call it arrogance, but Chakotay correctly identified it as an outward manifestation of knowing your place in the universe. Once he’d known such a feeling, but it had all been ripped away at the news of the Cardassians’ wanton destruction of his homeworld.

“Is there something I can do for you, sir?” Rollins asked.

“Yes, I want you to release Ensign Torres.” Chakotay waited a moment for Rollins to comply before adding, “That was an order, Lieutenant.”

“Lieutenant Tuvok ordered that Torres be held until the captain has had a chance to rule on her case,” Rollins said, meeting his gaze squarely. “Torres was only brought here less than an hour ago. Sir.”

“As first officer, I’m telling you to release the prisoner,” Chakotay repeated quietly. 

Rollins’ hesitation lasted just a fraction of a second longer – long enough for Chakotay to wonder if the lieutenant would really disobey a direct order. But Rollins dropped his glance and keyed a series of quick commands into the control panel.

Chakotay stepped in front of the cell as the glowing bars that framed the entry-way faded from brilliant white to dull gray. “Hey, Torres,” he called. “Are you coming? I haven’t got all day, you know.”

Torres, who’d been pacing back and forth, almost spitting in her rage, stopped short and looked at him in confusion. “I’m free to go?”

Chakotay nodded.

Torres didn’t waste another moment and immediately brushed past him. Pausing only long enough to fling a Klingon curse at Rollins, she rushed out into the corridor. He hurried to catch up with her and caught her by the shoulders. “Whoa, slow down, B’Elanna.”

“I’ve got to get back to Engineering,” she said between gritted teeth. “Who knows what that fool _Carey_ has been--”

“Hold on,” Chakotay said, refusing to let go of her. “You’ve been released from the brig, but that doesn’t mean you’ve been cleared to return to duty. Yet.” He permitted himself a small smile. “And you don’t have to wonder what Carey has been doing. He’s in Sickbay at the moment, having his injuries tended to. Seems somebody broke his nose.”

“The _petaQ_ had it coming,” Torres said, though a guilty expression passed briefly over her features. “I didn’t mean to do it, but he _refused_ to listen to my suggestion about recalibrating the warp core and insisted that his wrong-headed idea was the way to go.”

“So you punched him in the face instead.”

“It worked in the Maquis,” she muttered.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” he said, spinning her around to face him, “We’re not Maquis anymore. We’re on board a Starfleet vessel, and we’re expected to abide by Starfleet rules. And one of those is following the chain of command.”

“Even if the person in charge is wrong?” she said, her brows coming together in a scowl.

Keeping her arm firmly clamped between his hands, he propelled her toward the turbolift. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk.” He refused to answer any of her questions until they reached his quarters.

Torres looked around in appreciation as they entered. “Nice cabin. I guess being the first officer has its perks.”

“It does,” he said, waving her to the sofa and headed to the replicator. Fleetingly, he thought of the man he’d replaced, the person who had originally occupied these quarters. He had never met Cavit, of course, had no idea what type of officer he’d been or who was waiting for him back home. “Having people obey your orders is one of them.”

She gave him a sharp glance as she sat down. “Speaking of which, I’m surprised Rollins actually listened to you.”

 _That makes two of us._ Chakotay pushed away the memory of the moment when he actually wondered if Rollins would refuse his order. “That’s the chain of command I’m talking about. Following the orders of a superior officer.” Anticipating her next words, he added, “Janeway promised it wasn’t a ‘half-assed token appointment’, but the real deal. And so far she’s kept her word.”

Torres nodded grudgingly. “Thanks for springing me.” She took the glass of water he held out. “What did you want to talk me about?”

Chakotay took a swallow from his own glass. “What the hell are you doing, B’Elanna?” 

“At the moment? Drinking water.”

“You know what I mean.”

She exhaled forcefully. “I’m trying to fit in, to get along with the ‘Fleeters, I swear. But it’s not easy. They’re all a bunch of--”

“All of them?” he interjected.

“No. Some of them aren’t too bad. Like Harry Kim. And Nicoletti has her moments.”

“What’s your problem with Lieutenant Carey?”

“The man doesn’t know which end of a hyperspanner is up,” Torres said, her irritation rising. “Did you know that when the ship was dragged in by the Caretaker’s wave, the warp core was about to breach and that idiot couldn’t figure out how to stop it?”

Chakotay felt his eyebrow rise to the edge of his hairline. “Really? What happened?”

“Janeway had to come down to Engineering to take care of it, stop things from going critical. At least, that’s what Nicoletti said.”

Chakotay nodded slowly, his estimation of the captain rising even higher. That woman had surprising depths. “Well, breaking Carey’s nose was a dumb thing for you to do, Torres. Striking a fellow officer is grounds for a court-martial.”

Torres shrugged off the comment. “I was at the Academy for a couple of years; I know the consequences.”

“You say that and yet,” Chakotay said, spreading his arms in a questioning gesture, “you keep forgetting how a Starfleet officer should act.” He paused, and then said, “I’ll talk to Janeway about what happened, suggest that bringing you up on formal charges is not the right way to go, not when we’re trying so hard to unify the crew.”

Torres blinked in surprise. “So what is Janeway going to do with me instead?”

“I’ll tell you what I’d like her to do,” Chakotay said, leaning forward intently. “I want her to make you the new chief engineer.”

Torres burst into laughter. “You always did have a wicked sense of humor, Chakotay.” Her laughter died away as she realized he wasn’t kidding. “Are you serious? Janeway would never agree to it.”

“Why not? You’re certainly qualified,” he said. “And I’m sure if presented to her the right way, she’d come to agree it would be in her interests to have another Maquis on the senior staff.”

Torres got up and strolled over to the viewport to look out. The warp trails were fading rainbow streaks against the blackness of space. “Sure, why not?” She turned back to face him. “The news was all over the ship about her and Paris. Considering she made her _stepson_ the chief pilot, maybe you _do_ have some room to push for one of your people to get a high-ranking position as well.”

“I don’t like Paris. He’s a mercenary and a drunk,” Chakotay said levelly, “but the man did save my life, and objectively, he _is_ a really good pilot. We didn’t get to see him prove his worth much when he was with us, but I can tell when I see him in action on the bridge.”

“Well, maybe Janeway will listen to you now, though I think you’d have a better shot at getting Bendera named to a higher spot in Operations, or maybe Ayala in Security.” Torres turned back to the viewport. “You know,” she said, her voice a little too casual, “you’ve been spending a lot of time with Janeway the past few days. I was wondering what that’s all about.” Chakotay started to answer but she wasn’t finished. “And don’t tell me it’s all business.”

“That’s exactly what it is,” he said.

“Is it? There’s a rumor going around that Janeway is sleeping with you in exchange for your support. To keep the Maquis in line.”

Chakotay’s head reared back sharply. “Who’d you hear this from? Let me guess: Seska.”

Torres didn’t flinch. “She _did_ say you’ve been pulling away from her.”

“I’ve just been really busy taking up my duties as first officer,” he said firmly as he joined Torres at the viewport. It was the truth; he’d risen to the rank of Commander before he’d resigned his commission two years ago, and he’d been amazed now at both how much he remembered as well as how much he’d forgotten. He bit back a sigh when he thought about Seska. The two of them had been involved for the past 18 months, ever since she’d joined his cell. She’d proven to be a good partner, both in battle and in bed. He knew Seska had expected to be sharing these quarters with him now; she’d reacted unhappily to the news that he couldn’t take advantage of his position, particularly when he’d cited Starfleet regulations as the reason. And so Seska was currently bunking with Torres in a “lower deck” cabin. Truth be told, he had been growing a bit weary of his affair with Seska, even before they’d landed in the Delta Quadrant. Her hard and ruthless attitude, which worked so well in the Maquis, was a liability here on board _Voyager_ , and he welcomed the chance to put some distance between them temporarily, even if he hadn’t made up his mind to completely end things. “There’s no truth to that rumor about me and Janeway.”

“It makes so much sense though,” Torres insisted, not taking her eyes off his. “And it would explain a lot about your behavior. Why you’re suddenly toeing the Starfleet line and expecting the rest of us to go along with it, why you haven’t led us in a mutiny to take over the ship.”

“I’m not sleeping with the captain,” he said brusquely. “I haven’t sold you out. I’m acting the way I am because it’s in all of our best interests.”

Torres dropped her gaze. She didn’t say anything, but he could tell she conceded his point. Finally, she forced a smile. “You never even considered it? Just think of all the advantages.”

Chakotay shook his head but the corners of his mouth turned up a bit. “I admit, I do find Janeway attractive and under other circumstances, I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. But she _is_ married, to an Admiral no less, and I draw the line at interfering with that.”

“Well, unless we are magically transported back to the Alpha Quadrant, we’re going to be out here for a long, long time.”

“Yes, we are,” he said and then sought to turn the conversation back to her. “Which is why you really do need to do something about your attitude, B’Elanna, and at least try to get along with the ‘Fleeters.”

She sighed. “Fine, I will, I promise. Just don’t expect me to suddenly become best friends with any of them – or Tom Paris.”

“Deal,” he said, thinking of the animosity between them in the Maquis. Paris and his smart-ass attitude had seemed to rub so many of them the wrong way from the get-go, but B’Elanna had found him particularly irritating. He paused. “But you did say you like Harry Kim.”

“He’s a nice guy,” she admitted. “He certainly seems to have a more open and accepting attitude. It would be a lot easier if the rest of the crew were like that.”

“Great,” Chakotay said. “I have a meeting with the captain at 1600 and I’ll bring up the idea of chief engineer to her then. At least get her to consider the possibility of having an open competition for the post. Let the best man – or woman – win.”

“If it’s based solely on ability, I can guarantee you who that will be,” Torres said confidently.

He grinned, and ushered her out the door.


End file.
